Ozone apparatus



Jan. 22, 1957 U 7 2,778,796

OZONE APPARATUS Filed March 13, 1953 uvmyrox. AMA N5) 7/706 "MMw Uited rates Patent OZONE APPARATUS Hannes Triib, Zurich, Switzerland Application March 13, 1953, Serial No. 342,195

Claims priority, application Switzerland March 15, 1952 1 Claim. (Cl. 204-318) The present invention concerns an ozone apparatus which is characterised by the fact that an ozone element is located on one side of a vertical annular casing, and a fan motor on the other side.

In the drawing, which shows diagrammatically one embodiment of an apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an ozone apparatus, and

Fig. 2 is a perspective elevational view of a transformer used with said apparatus.

In Fig. 1, 1 denotes an annular casing, provided with a concentric support member 2, which is fixed by several radial arms 3 to the annular casing 1. The support member 2 is shaped like a vessel and serves to locate the base 4 of an ozone element 5. The base 4 is fixed to the support member 2 by detachable fastenings, e. g. screws, and support a transformer 8 which is provided with a low-voltage primary winding 6 and a high-voltage secondary winding 7. A glass dome 10 which is coated internally with a layer of metal 9 constituting one electrode covers the transformer 8 and is held inside the base 4 by a sealing substance 11. A tightly fitting wire mesh 12 constitutes another electrode and surrounds the cylindrical part of the outside of the glass dome 10. This arrangement effectively protects the transformer 8 against corrosion by ozone. Several conductors 13 are taken from the low-voltage winding 6 to the outside. One of these is connected over a fuse 14 to the instrument terminal 15, while the others are connected to the terminals of a rotary tap switch 16. The central contact 17 of this switch is connected to a second instrument terminal 18. The high-voltage winding 7 is electrically connected at one terminal by a split spring ring 19, which is located against the internal surface of the glass dome It to the metal coating 9, and at another terminal through a lead 20, which is taken through and round the base 4, with the wire mesh 12.

The ozone is produced by the effect of electric discharges on the oxygen of the air, which by the addition of a further atom of oxygen is transformed into ozone. The electric discharges take the form of cold glow discharges between the outside of the glass hood 10 and the wire mesh 12. Free access of air to the points where the discharges take place and the removal of the ozone are guaranteed by the spaces between the wires of the mesh. In order to maintain the electric discharges, the secondary winding of the transformer must show a definite minimum voltage. The transformation ratio u: V1/Vz between the primary and secondary windings must therefore be sufficiently great and have a definite value, e. g. 1:100. It is known, however, that in the production of ozone this substance is at the same time partly destroyed, so that it is important to maintain favorable conditions for a maximum ozone output by a suitable choice of the operating voltage. Consequently, the secondary voltage must be adjustable. This is made possible in the present case by providing the primary winding Patented Jan. 22, 1957 with additional turns which are not required for normal operation, so that the total transformation ratio becomes smaller than that required for normal operation. If new theseadditional turns are switched off, one after the other, by means of the rotary tap switch 16, the secondary voltage increases correspondingly and reaches or exceeds the most favorable voltage, so that this can be set quite conveniently. This arrangement has the advantage that lower current losses occur, so that less heat is generated and that it is safe in operation. There is also the possiblity to use the additional windings to adapt the apparatus for diiferent supply voltages.

On that side of the annular casing 1 which is opposite the ozone element, a small electric motor 21 with stationary armature is fixed to the support member 2 of the casing 1. The motor is employed as a direct drive for the fan blade 22. This electric motor is connected to the terminals 15, 18 of the apparatus by means of leads 23, one of which is provided with a starting condenser 24. This arrangement has the advantage that the ozone is removed as soon as possible from the place where it was generated, so that, firstly, its 'retransformation into oxygen and, secondly, its contact with corrodible substances are avoided to a considerable extent.

Both the ozone element 5 and the fan 21, 22 are covered by conical hoods 25 and 26, which are fixed to the annular casing 1 in such a way that they can be detached and are provided at their free ends with openings for the passage of air and ozone respectively. The casing and the hoods have their axes, which coincide with one another, disposed substantially horizontally, the casing being supported on a substantially vertical casing foot or pedestal, not shown, in which the external circuit components, such as the switch 16, fuse 14, condenser 24 and instrument terminals 15, 18 are located.

Fig. 2 shows a pictorial view of the transformer 53. One end or terminal of the secondary winding 7 is connected to the spring ring 19, of which only a part is shown in Fig. 2, while the other end or terminal 20 is connected to the wire mesh 12, which is not shown here. For the ends of the primary winding 6 a soldering tag board 27 is provided which is located between the primary Winding 6 and the secondary winding 7 and held in position by pressure. This soldering tag board is of the shape of a circular sector. It is provided with a number of regularly distributed tags 28, to which the two ends and the tapping points of the primary winding are 7 connected. Naturally, the soldering tag board 27 projects only so far from the transformer core that it does not interfere with the glass dome 10 which covers the transformer. The soldering tag board 27 described here facilitates the assembly of the transformer and the wiring to a considerable extent.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a now preferred example and embodiment of the invention it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without depart ing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

Apparatus for producing ozone comprising an annular casing having an axis disposed substantially horizontally. a support member having opposite sides and arranged within and substantially concentrically with said casing, radial arm members interconnecting said support member and said casing and maintaining the same in spaced relation with respect to one another to thereby pro vide a first annular channel therebetween for passage of air from which ozone is to be produced, a sealed glass 3 dome having a cylindrical wall part with inner and outer surfaces, said wall part of said dome being supported by said support member at one side thereof and in axial alignment with said axis of said casing, a coating of electrically conductive material on said inner surface of said cylindrical wall part, said coating constituting a first electrode, a woven wire mesh surrounding said wallpart and located directly on said outer surface of said Wall part, said wire mesh constituting a second electrode, whereby said electrodes are spaced from one another only by the thickness of said cylindrical wall part of said dome, a transformer located within said dome and supported by said support member at said one side thereof, said transformer including a low-voltage primary winding provided with a number of tapping points and a high-voltage secondary winding electrically connected across said electrodes, a first substantially cylindrical hood surrounding said second electrode and having open opposite ends, said first hood being supported at one of its open ends by said annular casing adjacent said one side of said support member and in axial alignment with said axis of said casing, said first hood being spaced from said second electrode to thereby provide a second annular channel for passage of said air during production of ozone therefrom and communicating with said first annular channel,

a fan supported by said support member at the other side thereof and having an axis of rotation aligned with said axis of said casing, a second substantially cylindrical hood surrounding said fan and having open opposite ends, said second hood being supported at one of its open ends by said casing adjacent said other side of said support member and in axial alignment with said axis of said casing, whereby said air is drawn by said fan into said second hood through the other open end thereof and is thereafter moved by said fan through said first annular channel into said second annular channel for contact with said second electrode, electric circuit means connected to said primary winding for applying voltages thereto, and a tap selector switch constituting part of said electric circuit means and connected to said tapping points on said primary winding for adjusting said voltages applied to the latter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS We r t 

